Striking, you might say. Eyecatching. Well, they were all that and more. But the problem was, the costumes were SO striking that I couldn’t focus on anything else.

“Did you see that triple axel?”

I dunno…what is up with those CLOWN COSTUMES?

“Wow, they’re so perfectly in sync.”

If you say so…they evenhave a BIG BLACK TEARDROP painted on their faces!

What this has to do with writing:

If you’re writing a novel, especially a novel for kids, please don’t get carried away with your beautiful, flowery, metaphor-laden prose. Just tell the story. Be straightforward, and stay out of the way. Otherwise, no one will notice your characters, or your story. They’ll just be staring at your clown costume.